Film Studies

Although a relatively new medium, especially compared to literature, film has been communicating interesting, enthralling narratives in increasingly creative ways, for over a century now.

Film Studies provides students with the opportunity to explore the medium’s rich and varied history, from the early beginnings of the silent era to modern Hollywood classics and documentaries.These are just a few of the many reasons we are so excited to be teaching Film Studies to A Level students from September 2022.

The course focuses on many genres and movements, including French New Wave and German Expressionism, asking students to consider the influential nature of social and historical factors as well as analysing in detail the micro elements such as cinematography and editing, whilst exploring more abstract concepts such as spectatorship and authorship.

It also provides the opportunity for students to make their own short film, utilising the understanding and skills they practise in the first year of the syllabus. No doubt for some students, this will the most exciting aspect of the course, as they get to flex their own cinematic creativity and bring their unique ideas to life.

Having studied Film as part of my English degree and having a long-standing interest in it myself, I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm and passion for all things film with the students from September.

J

World Premiere for ‘School’s Out’

In 2018, Emanuel pupils and staff made a fantastic short film entitled ‘School’s Out’ for the Impact50 feature film project.We are delighted that our short film was selected for inclusion, alongside entries from around the world, and that the feature film has now been released. The participating pupils have received IMDb credits as actors, composers and directors. Some of them have become world record holders due to the large number of collaborators on this film!

The world premiere of Impact50 was held at the Genesis Cinema and some of our staff, pupils and alumni were there to see this exciting film.

Music has a long and strong tradition at Emanuel with a significant number of our pupils involved in a wide variety of activities. Our offering encompasses rock bands, chamber ensembles, an annual musical, jazz ensembles, guitar groups and percussion groups, as well as the more traditional ensembles such as chapel choir and orchestra. Approximately 350 individual music lessons take place every week in school! The Music department is hugely ambitious for our pupils and their musical opportunities. Our aim is to become a centre of excellence for contemporary music while maintaining our superb status in choral and orchestral music. Over the past two years, we have started offering DJ lessons, developed the KS3 curriculum so pupils are offered a truly 21st century music education, hosted careers’ talks for those keen on a future in the music industry, become a Rockschool examination centre, offered RSL Music Production grades, and invested in the very latest technology and software. Exciting times lie ahead!

Rock and Pop Concert

In January 2020, the Hampden Hall came alive to a phantasmagoria of lights, smoke and some scintillating music for our inaugural Rock and Pop concert in Hampden Hall. The Autumn term saw over 70 pupils audition for a place in one of the three newly formed school bands that have been tutored by Mr McCredie, one of our peripatetic guitar teachers. The three bands performed pieces such as ‘Shotgun’ by George Ezra, ‘Get Lucky’ by Pharrell Williams and Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk’. Within the gig were stunning performances by George (U6ECR), Katy (11BJR) and Joe (L6JJH) (‘Sunshine of your love’ and ‘Purple Haze’) and solo spots by Annabel (11BJR), Mariana (11BJR), Bluebell (U6RCB) and Livi (11SDG). The pupils should be congratulated on their superlative performances and we look forward to the next event, which is a gig at the famous Half Moon Pub in Putney later on in the year. A big thank you to Ms Kerstein, Ms Thorne, Mr Dibden and Luke (U6CEG) for their astonishing hard work in organising the lighting and sound!

Autumn Term Concert (2020)

The Music Department’s Autumn Term concert is named after the patron saint of music, St Cecilia. All the school’s major music ensembles performed and delighted a packed audience with an eclectic range of music. The symphony orchestra began proceedings with the ‘Grand March’ from Aida, which was followed by the concert band, who filled the stage with an army of brass, woodwind and percussion. There were some delightful offerings from our chamber groups — flute, guitar, saxophone, percussion and string — and a powerful and emotional rendition of ‘Evermore’ from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by Sam (L6SKR). The concluding part of the concert was given over to more contemporary music, with our Big Band and Jazz Band on scintillating form.

Mr C Janz (Director of Music)

A wistful performance of Billy Joel’s ‘Lullaby’ by Schola Cantorum was followed by a medley of hits by the Beach Boys sung by the school choir.

Showstoppers!

On Wednesday 2 October, the Music Department hosted the popular annual concert for all Year 6 and 7 pupils: Showstoppers! During their curriculum lessons, the pupils had learned four epic songs, including a medley about the weather and a collection of some of the great rock songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Accompanied by a slick band — Mr Gregory, Hugo (L6SSH) and Kyra (L6SJC) — the pupils sang magnificently and the audience’s seemingly insatiable musical thirst was only quenched by an encore at the end. During the concert, we also heard solo performances from our three Year 7 music scholars: Maisie (7HEB), Emilia (7SWJ) and Isaac (7AFH). They each played with impressive panache in front of a packed Hampden Hall.

St Paul’s Cathedral Evensong

In December 2019, the Emanuel School Choir enjoyed the honour of singing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral. We enjoyed a vocal masterclass beforehand in the cathedral’s song school with Lucy Griffiths, one of the UK’s pre-eminent choral conductors.The choir sang responses by Richard Ayleward, a setting of the ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Nunc Dimittis in G’ by Charles Stanford, with soloists Emily (U6PMM) and Sam (L6SKR), and Charles Wood’s anthem ‘O thou, the central orb’. The choir and soloists sang with great panache and, as ever, we were supported by a considerable number of parents, staff and tourists. Mr Gregory accompanied the choir on the organ with consummate élan.

Music Careers’ Evening

On Monday 9 March, the Music Department hosted a music careers event for our pupils in the Concert Hall.A panel of industry experts focused on three main areas: what pupils should be doing at school to stand the best chance of making it in the music industry, the best institutions at which to study music and how to apply to them, and finally what it is like working in the music profession. We were delighted to welcome Mary Jong, Marketing Manager at Pioneer DJ Europe Ltd, Judy Griffith, Promotions Manager at Fabric Nightclub in London and Mark Brown, Director of Cr2 Records. Particularly valuable were the contacts made and the opportunities our pupils now have to gain work experience with these illustrious musicians.